Honda’s strategy launching diesel is make competition stiff

Japanese carmaker Honda wants to cover lost ground even as it is working on introducing the City Diesel. With the diesel version of Honda city, Honda is not just foraying into the diesel car market, but also further stiffening the competition and taking it to a new level altogether.

When the Honda City was introduced for the first time in the year 1998, this car became the top selling car in this particular segment and more significantly, it set a new standard or a yardstick for midsize sedans in India. Various competitors have put up their offerings against this midsize City sedan but were unable to match their products as against the City’s stunning looks, features and performance. The only drawback was that the City was not available in a diesel powertrain. When prices of petrol started spiraling upwards, diesel engine editions from different competitors started making inroads and thus, the Honda City was in a backward position and started losing its Numero Uno position and no longer remained the segment leader. Honda was aware that the answer to this was introducing a diesel heart. Thus, for the City’s fourth-generation edition, the carmaker finally fits the new offering with a 1.5 litre i-DTEC engine under its hood.

It is now much evident that Honda wants to take the battle to a new level with its competitors and does not want to settle with a high-headed approach. Every small thing about the new generation City sedan has well entrenched roots in what buyers now expect from a car of its class. Be it the styling or the appearance, the new City sedan has clearly evolved from the outgoing model. The exterior is adorned with some pronounced detailing including larger chrome bar embracing the grill, aggressive front bumper, sleek headlights as well as a contoured hood. Highlights on the car’s rear comprise of larger taillights along with a helping of chrome. Overall, the fourth generation City looks a lot more mature as against the predecessor and at the same time, retains the sporty character that works amazingly well to brand the new City as a voguish looking car.

For the new City sedan, its interiors are undoubtedly one of the major highlights in the styling department. The ‘man maximum, machine minimum’ slogan coined by Honda is best epitomized in the new City’s cabin. The new City’s dimensions are 1695mm width, 4440 mm length and it has a height of 1495mm. These dimensions are quite similar to the predecessor. But, the wheelbase of the new car has been augmented by 50mm and is now 2600mm which results in a lot of space freeing up inside the cabin which leads to plentiful seating space to accommodate five full sized adults. This has remained one of the talking points for the City ever since its 2^nd generation version was released. However, the 4^th generation City takes this virtue to a new level altogether.

The diesel City sedan is powered by a 1498cc, DOHC, four-cylinder , i-DTEC diesel powertrain, which interestingly is the same heart powering the Amaze compact sedan, though the City diesel’s engine is linked to a 6-speed transmission.